There is a great if not slightly unknown and perhaps overlooked industry event that began today Monday in Asia. On October 8, ULD CARE opens its 31st Annual ULD CARE Conference in Guangzhou, China.

A Joyful Obsession

     If you think a 45-minute dissertation on air cargo straps is a bit much, you will get no argument from us.
     But for Urs Wiesendanger, (above right) President, ULD CARE, and Bob Rogers, (above left) VP & Treasurer, ULD CARE, kicking the cans has been a joyful lifelong obsession.
     To Urs and Bob, the devices are eye candy on the hardstand. It’s always a beautiful thing to see them trail around behind tugs and move up from the ramp into the bellies and main decks of waiting aircraft.

Love Your ULD

     Urs and Bob love ULDs with an uncommon passion heard and felt in the way this charming duo fly off on the subject.
     So as a taste of today’s event, expect that the aforementioned China gathering will include some dialogue that goes something like this.


The Blockchain Proposition

     “OK,” declares Bob Rogers, getting right down to business, “so BLE (bluetooth low energy) tells you where your ULD is, but it doesn’t tell you who has it!”
     “This,” Urs states, “is where Blockchain comes on board!”

Just For Instance

     “Can you imagine the Fedex delivery man coming to your office, handing over a package, and not collecting a signature?
     “Or a handover process that relied on a piece of paper?” Urs says.
     “Basically,” Bob chimes in, “ULD handover processes have not advanced since the 70s, and until recently seemed likely to remain that way for the next millennium.”

The Name Says It All

     ULD CARE, as the name implies, gets in and out and all around ULD devices that are seen but often not heard from in the air cargo business.

IULDUG To Blockchain

     “But,” Bob Rogers insists, “ULD CARE has for over 40 years run the IULDUG system, which our member airlines use to record and manage the transfer of ULD between airlines (Interlining).
     “This system has never been adopted beyond airline to airline transfer, although it’s always been a ULD CARE ambition to somehow bring all ULD transfers, regardless of the parties concerned, onto a single industry neutral platform,” Urs insists.
     “Enter Blockchain,” Bob Rogers smiles, “and we are not talking Bitcoin, or even Cryptocurrency here.
     “Blockchain has a clear applicability to asset transfer in logistics. See our Blockchain Trend Report as just one example.”
     “Already both SQ and CX (Asia Miles) run their loyalty programs on Blockchain,” Bob said. A recent report in Asia Miles outlines the process.

So Why Not?

     “So ULD and Blockchain . . . why not?” Bob says.
     “Indeed one major airline here in Asia has already done proof of concept on a blockchain-based system using a handheld app for data input.
     “ULD CARE is deeply engaged in evaluating why and how Blockchain can replace our current central server-based IULDUG system that has handled airline to airline ULD transfers (Interlining) for decades,” Bob Rogers concludes.

Fair Play For ULDs

     “The IATA RP 1654,” Urs says, “defines the ULD Control receipt which records the transfer of a ULD between parties and which signifies a transfer of responsibility for that ULD between the parties.
     “But as we all know,” Urs said, “ULD don’t get the treatment they require, and as a result end up on the aircraft in an unserviceable condition.”
     “Blockchain and BLE, can, between them, undo this Gordian Knot, freeing ULD from its current status near the very bottom of the food chain and putting it fair and square where it deserves to be, as a responsibly controlled and handled item of aircraft equipment.”
Geoffrey

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     SpiceJet showcased its first freighter at Delhi airport last month September 10, making it the first domestic carrier to launch freighter services with a converted B737-700BDSF.
     With the livery of SpiceXpress – a cargo division of SpiceJet – the freighter comes at an opportune moment.
     As Ajay Singh, SpiceJet’s Chairman and Managing Director put it:
     “With our proven operational capability, this is an extension of our ‘belly cargo’ service to a ‘dedicated freighter’ with Boeing 737 aircraft.”

First of Four

     The freighter – the first of four – will be inducted in the SpiceXpress fleet and started operations from September 18.
     Over the course of the next 12 months, three more freighters will join the fleet and ultimately, as Singh said, there will be 10 aircraft.
     While another of the three will be a B737-700BDSF, the other two will be B737-800BDSFs.

Proud Bird

     Mr. Singh said it was a proud moment for SpiceJet to be the first airline to facilitate the logistics requirement of the nation. “There is a great demand for high value services,” he said while pointing out that with the induction of the freighter the cargo volumes will rise from the present 15,000 tons to 27,000 tons per month. SpiceJet expects tonnage to rise to 90,000-100,000 in the next few years.

e-Freight Lifts Freighters

     The first freighter will initially be used on the Delhi-Bengaluru route and depend primarily on ecommerce.
     Singh put it rather bluntly that e-commerce was a big driver behind the carrier’s move into the freighter business.
     He also emphasized that the aircraft will be used at night to ensure that deliveries can take place the next morning.
     “With next day delivery services of Amazon and Flipkart delivering high-value goods and equipment, there is a need for a freighter airline, which can offer time-specific services,” he said.
     “Other than Bengaluru, the freighter will be used to connect with Guwahati in the Northeast and Amritsar.
     “It will also touch Kabul and Hong Kong, though according to a representative from the lessor, there will be a load penalty.
     SpiceJet proposes to offer direct freighter operations across Asia and Europe in time powered by its fully integrated transportation network, ground transportation and warehousing facilities across the country.
Tirthankar Ghosh